I've been gone for a few days as I have been driving the east coast tour out of Fort Lauderdale while our new guide was away.
Since my last post, Florida Panther #9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 were all struck and killed by vehicles in SW Florida. There are now no more than 90. The most ever killed by vehicles in one year was 11 in 2006. With all of the development, I feel there is no hope for them.
The UN just delisted the Everglades as an Endangered World Heritage site, claiming the threat of development does not put the ecosystem at risk any longer. This is the equivalent of giving George Bush the Nobel Peace Prize. There is not a shred of evidence that the Everglades is at any less of a risk than it was when it was listed. Hard to imagine how they came to that conclusion.
I may seem cranky. I have my reasons which I will explain here soon enough. It's hot. Fort Myers set a record on Monday when the thermometer hit 98 degrees. I've never experienced a 100 degree day in Florida. (Oddly I've experienced 4 in Vermont.)
It hasn't rained much either.
By the time this is posted, I will have awoken at 4:45 am and driven across the Everglades to guide on the east coast (on Thursday 6/28). I'll watch for panthers and pray for rain.
Hope you get some rest!!! We look forward to your blogs.
ReplyDeletemarianne
I believe we should do like we did with the Native Americans when they were "endangered" by development. Take the panthers and put them in an area with a fence, so they can't get hurt. Then they'll be just fine!
ReplyDelete- hot and sweaty in MA with no AC
ok so besides my usual idiotic comments. What can be done to save the panthers? T-shirts? protesting? Stink palm? I'd like to help.
ReplyDelete-your l'il sister Lovin the panthers. Aren't they a football team?
The cats are pretty well fenced in. But someone falls asleep driving across the 70 mile stretch of Alligator Alley, drives off the road and busts through the wildlife fence. All the critters can get on the road!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think there is something we can all do to help the Panthers but I really feel it's too late. When I bring up an issue, I always hope to offer a solution, but in this case the main cause of the Panther demise is growth. People keep building in the marshes and swamps of the Everglades and to an extent in many places in North Florida as well where the cats once roamed. I don't know the answer. I think people need to understand the effects of what they do, but far too many people could care less here. How do I make 6 million people care about 80 cats?
ReplyDeleteYou come off like Kevin Costner in "Dances With Wolves" on this one.
ReplyDelete"By the time this is posted, I will have awoken at 4:45 am and driven across the Everglades to guide on the east coast (on Thursday 6/28). I'll watch for panthers and pray for rain."
Dunbar, not Dumb Bear
I'll take that as a compliment. My name would probably be "Runs from Gators" or "Steps on Spiders" though.
ReplyDeleteThat's better than "Watches you Pee" or "Skips Alot".
ReplyDeleteMaybe "Magical Dancer" or "Turtle Dove".
ReplyDeleteoh Anonymous....now you are just being mean.....
ReplyDelete